Power system and method for operating a wind power system with a dispatching algorithm

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a power system having a plurality wind turbine generators and a power plant controller arranged to communicate with the plurality of wind turbines generators, where each of the plurality of wind turbine generator being related to a wind turbine controller, the wind turbine controller being arranged to control an active power output in its related wind turbine generator according to an active power set point received from the wind power plant controller; a first subset of wind turbine generators operating at an active power output unrestricted of the active power set point; and a second subset of wind turbine generators operating according to an active power set point; and wherein the wind power plant controller communicates the active power set point, in accordance with the active power output of the first subset of the plurality of wind turbines generators, so as to reduce active power fluctuation of the aggregated active power output of the first and second subset of the plurality of wind turbines generators. The present invention also relates to method accordingly.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/399,808 filed on Nov. 7, 2014, which is a national stageentry of PCT/DK2013/050138 filed on May 10, 2013, which claims priorityto Danish Patent Application PA 2012 70246 filed on May 11, 2012 and toU.S. provisional patent application 61/663,991 filed on Jun. 25, 2012.Each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to a power system with reduced powerfluctuations, and to a method to reduce power fluctuations in a windpower plant.

BACKGROUND

In an electrical utility grid consumers can usually consume electricpower in an uncontrolled manner. Since hardly any energy is stored inthe grid, no imbalance can exist between the power produced and thepower consumed. Therefore, the momentary production of power shall matchthe momentary power consumption. Overproduction leads to an increase ofthe grid frequency beyond the nominal value (e.g., 50 or 60 Hz), sincethe conventional synchronous generators accelerate, while overconsumption will lead to a decrease of the grid frequency beyond thenominal value (e.g., 50 or 60 Hz), since the conventional synchronousgenerators will then decelerate.

In order to stabilize the frequency of the electrical grid,conventionally about 10% of the producers contribute to what is called“primary power control”. These producers, also referred to as “primarycontrollers”, increase power output when the frequency falls below thenominal value and decrease power output when it rises above the nominalvalue.

Conventionally, wind turbine generators do not contribute to primarycontrol, firstly because wind turbine generators cannot normallyincrease their output power by command (as they normally operate atnominal load or, when operating at partial load, at an optimal workingpoint), and secondly because the available wind power shall normally beentirely exploited.

Generally, wind power adds an additional moment of grid instabilitybecause, with a significant fraction of wind power in a grid, not onlythe consumption is uncontrolled, but also the production by wind turbinegenerators. Even though wind forecasts enable the wind power productionto be predicted with considerable accuracy on a long-term basis (at thelevel of hours), the wind speed normally fluctuates in an unpredictablemanner on a short-term basis (at the level of minutes down to a fewseconds). A wind turbine generator operating at partial load (i.e. whenthe wind speed is below the nominal wind speed of the wind turbinegenerator considered) will normally transform these wind-speedfluctuations into corresponding fluctuations of the amount of real powerproduced and supplied to the electrical grid. Only at wind speeds abovenominal, when a wind turbine generator operates at nominal load, windturbine generators normally control their output power to be constant atthe nominal output power.

The consequence of fluctuating-power production by wind turbinegenerators on the grid stability depends on characteristics of the grid.In a large, stable grid a power fluctuation by a wind turbine generatoror wind power plant will not produce any significant response in theform of a frequency fluctuation. Thus, such grids can cope with higherpower variations.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In an aspect, the present invention relates to a power system having aplurality wind turbine generators and a power plant controller arrangedto communicate with the plurality of wind turbines generators,comprising:

each of the plurality of wind turbine generator being related to a windturbine controller, the wind turbine controller being arranged tocontrol an active power output in its related wind turbine generatoraccording to an active power set point received from the wind powerplant controller;

a first subset of wind turbine generators operating at an active poweroutput unrestricted of the active power set point;

a second subset of wind turbine generators operating according to anactive power set point;

and wherein the wind power plant controller communicates the activepower set point, in accordance with the active power output of the firstsubset of the plurality of wind turbines generators, so as to reduceactive power fluctuation of the aggregated active power output of thefirst and second subset of the plurality of wind turbines generators.

An advantage of first aspect is mainly that a wind power plant canproduce power with reduced power fluctuation, as the dispatcher helpidentifying which wind turbine generator can regulate the fluctuationand which will fluctuate.

According to one embodiment of the invention the power plant controlleris arranged to define the first and second subsets of wind turbinegenerators from the plurality of wind turbine generators, in accordancewith a selection algorithm.

An advantage of this embodiment is that the present invention will makethe selection of which turbines belong to the first subset and whichbelong to the second subset.

According to one embodiment of the invention the selection algorithmselects the first and second subset of wind turbine generators inaccordance with an actual wind speed at each of the plurality of windturbine generators.

An advantage of this embodiment of present invention is that by usingwind speed there is a direct correlation to the produced power, and thuswhich turbine will produce power below rated power i.e. with fluctuatingpower. Similar selection algorithm can be made based on produced power.

According to one embodiment of the invention the plurality of windturbine generators receives a common active power set point reference.

An advantage of this embodiment of present invention is that inside thewind power plant, the power generated from each fluctuating wind turbinegenerator is always lower than the power generated from each regulatedwind turbine generator. Therefore all wind turbine generators in thewind power plant can receive the same common set point value from acentral controller, thus wind turbine generator with low wind speed willgenerate just what is possible locally while wind turbine generator withsurplus of wind will follow the common set point value.

According to one embodiment of the invention the common active power setpoint reference is defined as:

$P_{setpoint} = \frac{P_{Demand} - P_{Fluctuating}}{{Number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {regulated}\mspace{14mu} {wind}\mspace{14mu} {turbine}\mspace{14mu} {generators}}$

An advantage of this embodiment of the present invention is that asimple equation defines the active power set point.

According to one embodiment of the invention the common active power setpoint reference is overruled by another active power set point.

An advantage of this embodiment of present invention is that a commonset point value may be restricted locally at each wind turbine generatordepending on local constraints, e.g., maximum/minimum powers, individualde-loading, etc. In such case, the dispatcher will take the individualwind turbine generators as non-controllable (i.e. fluctuating).

According to one embodiment of the invention the first subset of windturbine generators and the second subset of wind turbine generators arelocated within the same or adjacent wind power plant(s).

An advantage of this embodiment of present invention is that wind powerplant located at sites where the wind speed varies from turbine toturbine, can be optimized.

According to one embodiment of the invention the first subset of windturbine generators and the second subset of wind turbine generators arelocated at two or more geographical locations.

An advantage of this embodiment of present invention is that severalwind power plants can be considered in an overall strategy of injectingnon-fluctuating power into the electrical grid. This means that activepower from one wind power plant can fluctuate, but where other plant(s)can compensate for the fluctuations. There might be locale restrictionson the transmissions lines that limit the geographical area, to whichthis invention may be applied.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method foroperating a wind power system, comprising a subset of wind turbinegenerators and a second subset of wind turbine generators, the methodcomprises the steps of:

analyzing an active power output of each of the first subset of windturbine generators;

calculating an active power set point to at least the second subset ofwind turbine generators based on the active power output of the firstsubset of wind turbine generators;

dispatching the active power set point to at least each of the secondsubset of wind turbine generator to minimize power fluctuations.

The advantages of the second aspect and its embodiments are equivalentto the advantages for the first aspect of the present invention.

The individual aspects of the present invention may each be combinedwith any of the other aspects. These and other aspects of the inventionwill be apparent from the following description with reference to thedescribed embodiments.

Any of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as thesame become better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. Thepreferred features may be combined as appropriate, as would be apparentto a skilled person, and may be combined with any of the aspects of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The power system and its method according to the invention will now bedescribed in more detail with regard to the accompanying figures. Thefigures show one way of implementing the present invention and is not tobe construed as being limiting to other possible embodiments fallingwithin the scope of the attached claim set.

FIG. 1 shows a wind turbine generator according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows the principle of dispatcher for a wind power plantaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the dispatcher.

FIG. 4 shows various calculating modules of the dispatcher.

FIG. 5 shows various calculating modules of the dispatcher.

FIG. 6 shows a functional circuit diagram of an embodiment of a windpower plant controller according to the invention

FIG. 7 shows simulation results of an embodiment of the presentinvention

FIG. 8 shows simulation results of an embodiment of the presentinvention

FIG. 9 is a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of the method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention will now be explained in further details. Whilethe invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternativeforms, specific embodiments have been disclosed by way of examples. Itshould be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to belimited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

The individual elements of an embodiment of the invention may bephysically, functionally, and logically implemented in any suitable waysuch as in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of separatefunctional units. The invention may be implemented in a single unit, orbe both physically and functionally distributed between different unitsand processors.

The embodiments of the present invention pertain to a power system witha plurality of wind turbine generators (e.g., a variable-speed windturbine generator). The power system seeks to produce an aggregatedpower from all the wind turbine generators, with as little, as possiblepower fluctuations.

The reduced fluctuations are reached by making two subsets of windturbine generator. The first subset of wind turbine generators comprisesturbines that will operate at a power production that is not limited orreduced by an external power set point, i.e. unrestricted of the powerset point, and thus may produce power with fluctuations as the windspeed may fluctuate. The second subset of wind turbine generators,comprises turbines that are constrained or restricted in their powerproduction by an external power set point, i.e. the power production istherefore curtailed.

Both subsets may receive a power set point from a dispatcher, whichdecides the wind turbine generators that should be regulated and onesthat should be unregulated. The unregulated or unconstrained turbinesare of course still regulated within the limits of the wind turbinegenerator itself, meaning that production above rated power isrestricted, and temperature limit and etc. see more below.

In an embodiment only the second subset receives a power set point.

The dispatcher is concerned about having a constant power output givenby an external general power set point. In the present invention themain concerned is about having a nearly constant power output from aplurality of wind power sources, meaning that there will be acurtailment of the production in one virtual subset. This is achieved bymeasuring or monitoring the power production from both subsets, butmainly from the first subset and then dispatching a power set point tothe second subset that counteracts the power fluctuations of the firstsubset.

The objective of the dispatcher is to use the surplus of available powerfrom a subset of wind turbine generators inside a wind power plant tocompensate the lack of power in others wind turbine generators, thusregulating the total wind power plant power output to a desired value.

In other words, the first subset of wind turbine generators will becontrolled in order to compensate the fluctuations in the second subsetof wind turbine generators, with the overall objective of having aconstant or desired value of total power output from the wind powerplant.

The consequence of the dispatcher action is that we will have acurtailment in the second subset. In some embodiments may the curtailedpower may not be of utility for the grid operator. In other embodimentsthe curtailed power may be used as a reserve.

In critical grid situation the dispatcher action may be disabled by amode switch and the curtailed power can be injected into the grid,knowing that this may introduce power fluctuations.

The wind turbine generator (e.g., a variable-speed wind turbinegenerator) which supplies power to an electric grid which may beequipped with other regulation capacity against grid-frequency andactive power fluctuations. “Electric grid” or “grid” is a utility gridoutside the boundary and point of common coupling of a wind power plant;when reference is made to the grid within a wind power plant anexpression with explicit indication to the wind power plant is made,e.g., “wind-park grid”. Regulation capacity against grid-frequencyfluctuations is, e.g., provided by a certain fraction (typically about10%) of primary controllers, which are typically conventional producers,which may use steam- or gas-driven turbines and fossil energy sources,or hydropower). The primary controllers increase power output when thefrequency falls below the nominal value (e.g., 50 or 60 Hz) and decreasepower output when it rises above the nominal value.

As the present text deals with active power rather than reactive power,active power is briefly referred to as “power”, or “output power”. Wherereactive power is addressed, it is explicitly referred to as “reactivepower”.

There is an upper limit to the output power which can be produced by thewind turbine generator according to the embodiments, e.g., due tostructural limits and a current limit in the wind turbine generator'selectric converter. This amount of power is referred to as “nominalpower”. The wind speed sufficient for the wind turbine generator toproduce the nominal power is referred to as “nominal wind speed”. Whenthe wind turbine generator according to the embodiments operates at windspeeds above the nominal wind speed, only that fraction of the availablewind power is transformed to electric output power which corresponds tothe nominal power. This reduction of power production is, e.g., achievedby gradually changing the rotor-pitch angle towards the so-called flagposition. In other words, the wind turbine generator intentionally isnot operated at optimum efficiency. In some embodiments the wind turbinegenerator is also operated at a sub-optimal tip-speed ratio so as toreduce structural loads.

By contrast, during operation at partial load, i.e. at wind speed belowthe nominal wind speed, the wind turbine generator according to theembodiments is operated at optimum efficiency. For example, it isoperated with the aerodynamically optimal blade pitch angle andtip-speed ratio. Generally, the wind speed fluctuates in anunpredictable manner on a short-term basis (at the level of minutes downto a few seconds). When operating at partial load and with optimumefficiency the wind turbine generator according to the embodimentstransforms these wind-speed fluctuations in a nearly one-to-one mannerinto corresponding wind-caused fluctuations of the amount of real powerproduced and supplied to the electrical grid. Fluctuations in the winddirection may also contribute to the wind-caused fluctuations of theamount of real power produced result in and supplied to the electricalgrid because a wind-turbine's yaw adjustment mechanism is generally notable to immediately align the wind turbine generator's rotor axis to thewind direction. A misaligned rotor has a reduced efficiency so thatfluctuations in the wind direction are a further source of wind causedfluctuations of the amount of real power produced and supplied to theelectrical grid.

As mentioned at the outset, the consequence of fluctuating-powerproduction by wind turbine generators on the grid stability depends oncharacteristics of the grid. In a large, stable grid a power fluctuationby a wind turbine generator or wind power plant will not produce anysignificant response in the form of a frequency fluctuation. However, ina small isolated grid, or in weak grids, such a power fluctuation mayproduce a significant frequency fluctuation. A certain ability of thegrid to compensate imbalances of power production and compensation andregulate resulting frequency variations, i.e. a certain degree ofstiffness or weakness of the grid, is referred to as “grid-stability”.

The inventor has recognized that the grid-stability may vary over time,for example due to grid related failures, such as islanding of that partof the grid in which the wind turbine generator is located, due toprimary-producer failures, etc. The inventor has also recognized that adeterioration of the grid stability can be detected by monitoring e.g.,frequency fluctuations on the grid. Moreover the inventor has recognizedthat it is desirable in the case of a deterioration of the gridstability conditions to limit the output-power fluctuations produced bythe wind turbine generator and supplied to the grid or if the windturbine generator has already operated with limited output-powerfluctuations before the deterioration occurred—to reduce the alreadyexisting fluctuation limit. “Reducing” the fluctuation limit meansmaking the limit stricter. By this measure, although the wind turbinegenerator according to the embodiments does not operate as a primarycontroller, it contributes to grid stability by reducing source-inducedfluctuations. However, limiting the output power fluctuations theaccumulated power output will generally be reduced and thereby theeffective efficiency of the wind turbine generator lowered. However, byrestricting this measure to situations in which the grid-stability is(temporarily) deteriorated, the loss of electric energy produced will belimited.

In the embodiments limiting the active-power fluctuations is, e.g.,achieved by means of blade pitch adjustment. In some embodimentsactive-power fluctuations are also limited electrically, bycorresponding control of the wind turbine generator's electric-powerconverter. However, the later results in imbalance between the amount ofwind power converted into mechanical power of the wind turbinegenerator's rotor and the electric output power which, e.g., results inacceleration of the rotor.

Therefore, in some embodiments electrically limiting power is onlyperformed in combination with blade-pitch adjustment to cope withwind-speed transients For example, when the wind speed rises faster thatthe pitch can be adjusted to compensate for the wind speed rise, theoutput power is first limited electrically and, once the blades havebeen pitched to their new pitch angle, is then limited by the pitchadjustment.

The present description focuses on limiting, or further limiting, theoutput-power fluctuations. However, the invention also goes in the otherdirection, that is relaxing or cancelling the limit, in an analogousmanner. That is to say, upon detection of increased grid stability, theoperation of the wind turbine generator is changed by cancelling orrelaxing a previously set fluctuation limit.

The monitoring and limit-adjustment function is a self-diagnosis andself-adjustment function performed by a control system at the level ofindividual wind turbine generators, or at the level of a wind powerplant, or at a higher level in the utility grid. The control system canalso be distributed, e.g., include controllers at the wind-park and thewind-turbine level.

In some embodiments the frequency range covered by grid-frequencyfluctuations is permanently determined, and a variation of the gridfrequency outside an allowed-frequency range F_(max)/F_(min) (between anallowed maximum frequency F_(max) and an allowed minimum frequencyF_(min)) range is considered to be a detection of a reduced gridstability condition, i.e. a frequency dead band. Alternatively or inaddition, the variance of the grid frequency is permanently determined,and a rise beyond a variance threshold is considered to be a detectionof a reduced grid stability condition. The allowed fluctuation of thewind turbine generator's or wind power plant's power output is thenreduced.

In some embodiments monitoring whether the grid-frequency fluctuationsare within the allowed-frequency range, or whether their variance isbelow the variance threshold is performed in an absolute manner, i.e.without taking into account any correlation of the grid frequency andthe output power produced by the wind turbine generator or wind powerplant.

However, correlation-less monitoring grid-frequency fluctuations issomewhat unspecific in the sense that it is not ensured that thefluctuation of the wind-turbine or wind power plant considered actuallycontributes to the grid-frequency fluctuations observed. Therefore, inthese embodiments the reduction of the fluctuation limit might be invain, and would only produce costs (by the reduction of the accumulatedpower output caused by it). Therefore, in other embodiments themonitoring of grid stability comprises determining a correlation betweenpower supplied to the electrical grid and grid frequency. Correlationmeans that if the power output increases the grid frequency alsoincreases. The grid frequency is, e.g., measured at the wind turbinegenerator's terminals or at a wind power plant's point of coupling tothe grid. If, however, no increase of the grid frequency is observedupon increase of the output power there is no correlation. Actually,“correlation” can be a continuous parameter measuring the degree ofcoincidence between the output power increase and the grid frequencyrise.

In some of the embodiments, the bigger is the correlation thusdetermined, the smaller is the grid stability detected. To be consideredas an indicator for reduced grid stability, a rise of the correlationhas to be significant in some embodiments, e.g., the rise has to exceeda maximum-acceptable correlation threshold. The allowed fluctuation ofthe wind turbine generator's output power is then reduced. Linking thereduction of the fluctuation limit to the observed correlation betweenoutput-power fluctuations and grid-frequency fluctuations ensures thatthe reduction of the output-power fluctuation limit actually contributesto reduction of the grid-frequency fluctuations.

In some embodiments, the correlation information is used to determinewhether the variation of the grid frequency extends beyond theallowed-frequency range F_(max)/F_(min) or whether the frequencyvariance exceeds the variance limit, by taking only those peaks (ordips) in the grid frequency into account which can be attributed to acorresponding peak (or dip) of the output power of the wind turbinegenerator or wind power plant considered. This is taking into accountcorrelation on a peak-by-peak basis.

In other embodiments the correlation information is used for the samepurpose more globally, (not peak-by-peak) by multiplying theuncorrelated fluctuation amplitude by the magnitude of the correlation,which may be a number between 0 and 1 (or by multiplying theuncorrelated frequency variance by the square of the fluctuation).“Diluting” the observed uncorrelated fluctuation amplitude or variancein this manner takes into account that only a fraction of the observeduncorrelated fluctuation amplitude or variance is due the output-powerfluctuations of the wind turbine generator or wind power plantconsidered.

A prerequisite of such a correlation measurement is that there is avariation of the wind turbine generator's output power. In someembodiments, also referred to as “passive-variation embodiments”, use ismade of the output power variations caused by the natural wind-speedvariations. These passive-power variations are tracked and correlatedwith the measured grid frequency.

In some embodiments the limit on power fluctuations is chosen such thatthe grid-frequency fluctuations caused by the supply of power aremaintained inside the range F_(max)/F_(min) or the variance ofgrid-frequency fluctuations caused by the supply of power is maintainedbelow the variance limit.

In some of these embodiments the entire grid-frequency fluctuation(including the contribution not caused by the wind turbine or wind parkconsidered) is to be maintained inside the range F_(max)/F_(min) orbelow the variance threshold, while in other embodiments only thatfraction of the grid-frequency fluctuations which is caused by the powersupply of the wind turbine or wind park considered is maintained insidethe range F_(max)/F_(min) or below the variance threshold.

In some of the embodiments in which the (entire or fractional)grid-frequency fluctuation is to be maintained inside the rangeF_(max)/F_(min) or below the variance threshold, the fluctuation limitto the output power is continuously adjusted to that extent of limitjust needed to keep the grid frequency inside the range F_(max)/F_(min)or the variance below the variance threshold. That means that the powerproduction by the wind turbine or wind park is maximized by letting theoutput power fluctuate, but the fluctuation is limited, or modulated, ifthe grid frequency goes beyond F_(max)/F_(min) Thus, the objective thecontinuous adjustment is to avoid the grid frequency to go out of theF_(max)/F_(min) range without losing more power production thannecessary.

In some embodiments the operation of the wind turbine is automaticallyswitched between two discrete operation modes, that is to say from anormal-operation mode (i.e. a mode with no power-fluctuation limit, orwith a relatively relaxed power-fluctuation limit) to a reducedfluctuation mode (in which the power fluctuation limit is activated).The automatic mode switch from the normal-operation mode to thereduced-fluctuation mode is triggered, in some of these embodiments, bydetection of a reduction of the grid stability beyond a lowermode-switch threshold. Switching from the reduced-fluctuation mode backto the normal-operation mode can likewise be triggered by detection ofan increase of the grid stability beyond an upper mode-switch threshold.

In some of the mode-switching embodiments the reduced-fluctuation modeis maintained a minimum time interval before the mode can switch back tothe normal-operation mode. By this measure too frequent mode switchingcan be avoided. Moreover, there may be a contractual agreement with thegrid provider according to which the wind-power producer is committed tosupply output power with strongly limited output-power fluctuationduring a predetermined time interval, say 15 min. The wind-powerproducer can be compensated for the production loss suffered due to this(exemplary) 15-min. period of smooth output power supply.

In some of the mode-switching embodiments the power-fluctuation limit iskept constant during the reduced-fluctuation mode. Constancy of thepower-fluctuation limit refers to the width of the limit relative to amean output power; it does not necessarily mean that the absolute valuesof the upper and lower power limits are kept constant. In someembodiments the limit is relative a mean value of the power produced.For example, if the mean power produced increases with time, theabsolute values of the upper and lower power-fluctuation limits willalso increase.

In other mode-switching embodiments the fluctuation limit is alsoadjusted to avoid the grid frequency to go out of the F_(max)/F_(min)range without losing more power production than necessary, as wasdescribed above. This adjustment may be stepwise (an setting adjusted atthe beginning of mode switch and then kept constant for a certain periodof time) or continuous. Thus, the output-power adjustment to keep thegrid frequency inside the range F_(max)/F_(min) or below the variancethreshold, to that extent of limit just needed to keep the gridfrequency inside the range F_(max)/F_(min) or the variance below thevariance threshold applies to both the continuous-adjustment embodimentsand the mode-switching embodiments.

It has already been mentioned that limiting power fluctuation may resultin a loss of accumulated power. A loss of accumulated power could beavoided if not only peaks of the output power (“positive fluctuations”)were cut, but also dips of the output power (“negative fluctuations”)were lifted, or filled up, in a symmetric manner. However, in someembodiments the wind turbine is at its optimal working point duringnormal-mode operation, which does not allow any increase of the outputpower. Therefore, limiting output fluctuations is rather performed in anasymmetric manner, by cutting the output power during positivefluctuations (cutting high output peaks), without (or withoutsignificantly) lifting the relative output power during negativefluctuations. As explained above, cutting the output power duringpositive fluctuations is, e.g., achieved by a corresponding adjustmentof the blade-pitch angle towards the flag position.

The strictness of the limit on output-power fluctuations, and/or theposition of the threshold which has to be exceeded by the gridinstability so that mode switching is performed, may also depend onother factors than the monitored grid stability.

For example, in some of the embodiments a wind forecast is used to varythe fluctuation limit, e.g., to make it stricter when the forecastpredicts increased wind-power fluctuation. Moreover, in mode-switchingembodiments the mode-switch threshold may be varied in response to thewind forecast. For example, the threshold may be varied upon a forecastof increased windpower fluctuation such that switching from thenormal-operation mode to the reduced fluctuation mode is alreadytriggered at a less pronounced reduction of the grid stability.

Similarly, in other embodiments an expectation of power consumption inthe electrical grid is used to vary the fluctuation limit, or to varythe mode-switch threshold. For example, a power consumption expectationgiving rise to expectation of increased grid-frequency fluctuation mayrender the fluctuation limit stricter, or modify the mode-switchthreshold such that switching from the normal-operation mode to thereduced-fluctuation mode is already triggered at a less pronouncedreduction of the grid stability.

Some embodiments pertain to a control system arranged to control atleast one wind turbine which may include some, or all, of the windturbines of a whole wind park, in the manner describe above. The controlsystem may be an individual wind turbine controller, a wind power plantcontroller, a power plant controller or a controller at a higher levelin the grid and connected to the wind-turbine controller to sendlimit-fluctuation commands. The control system can be distributed, e.g.,include controllers at the wind-park and the wind-turbine level orutility-grid level.

An objective of the dispatcher of the present invention is to use thesurplus of available power from a subset of wind turbine generatorinside a wind power plant to compensate the lack of power in others windturbine generator, thus regulating the total wind power plant poweroutput to a desired value.

The dispatcher of the present invention works as follows:

At least one wind turbine generator receiving lower wind speeds areallowed to generate power without constraint, meaning that producedpower may vary with the wind speed. That is, the electrical power fromthis sub-group is generated according to actual wind speed.

Wind turbine generator with higher wind speeds generate regulated(constrained) power. That is, the electrical power from this sub-groupis generated according to a set point sent from the dispatcher.

Power fluctuations from low wind speed wind turbine generator group arecompensated by changing the set points of high wind speed wind turbinegenerator group accordingly. Therefore the total wind power productionin the wind power plant remains regulated to a desired value by thedispatcher, as long as regulated wind turbine generator inside the windpower plant receive surplus of wind power.

Inside the wind power plant, the power generated from each fluctuatingwind turbine generator is always lower than the power generated fromeach regulated wind turbine generator. Therefore in some embodiments,all the wind turbine generators in the wind power plant can receive thesame common set point value from a central controller, thus wind turbinegenerator with low wind speed will generate just what is possiblelocally while wind turbine generator with surplus of wind will followthe common set point value.

The common set point value may be restricted locally at each windturbine generator depending on local constraints, e.g., maximum/minimumpowers, individual de-loading, etc. In such case, the dispatcher willtake this individual wind turbine generator as non-controllable (i.e.fluctuating).

A variable speed wind turbine generator, which is used in at least oneof the above described embodiments and which is capable for beingconnected to an electrical grid is equipped with the control systemdescribed above. It comprises a rotor with a hub and at least one blademounted to the rotor as discussed above. The rotor is connected, forexample via a main shaft, to a generator for translating the torque ofthe rotor into electrical power. In some embodiments, a gearbox isinterconnected between the rotor and the generator in order to translatethe rotational speed of the rotor into a higher speed for the generator.

FIG. 1 shows, an exemplary variable-speed wind turbine generator (WPS) 1is one of a plurality of wind turbine generators of a wind power plant(WPP) 2. It has a rotor 3 with a hub to which, e.g., three rotor blades4 are mounted. The pitch angle of the rotor blades 4 is variable bymeans of pitch actuators. The rotor 3 is supported by a nacelle 5 anddrives a generator 12 via a main shaft 8, a gearbox 10, and a high speedshaft 11. This structure is exemplary; other embodiments, for example,use a direct-drive generator.

The generator 12 (e.g., Induction or synchronous generator) produceselectrical output power of a frequency related to the rotation speed ofthe rotor 3, which is converted to grid frequency (e.g., about 50 or 60Hz) by a converter 19. The voltage of the electric power thus producedis up-transformed by a transformer 9. The output of the transformer 9 isthe wind turbine generator's terminals 9 a. The electric power from thewind turbine generator 1 and from the other wind turbine generators ofthe wind power plant 2 is fed into a wind power plant grid 18(symbolized by “a” in FIG. 1). The wind power plant grid 18 is connectedat a point of common coupling 21 and an optional further step uptransformer 22 to a wind power plant external electrical utility grid20. The utility grid 20 is equipped with regulation capacity againstgrid-frequency fluctuations, e.g., in the form of conventional producerswhich can increase and lower production on a short-time scale to controlfrequency.

A control system includes a wind turbine controller 13 and a wind powerplant controller 23. The wind turbine controller 13 controls operationof the individual wind turbine generator 1, e.g., selects the full-loador partial-load operation mode, depending i.a., on the current windspeed, causes, in the partial load mode, operation of the wind turbinegenerator at the optimal working point by adjusting the blade angle andcontrolling the tip speed ration to the aerodynamic optimum at thecurrent wind speed, and controls the converter 19 to produce electricityaccording to prescriptions of the wind-park-controller, e.g., aninstruction to provide a certain amount of reactive power in addition tothe active power, etc. The wind turbine controller 13 uses differentinput signals to perform its control tasks, for example signalsrepresenting current wind conditions (e.g., from an anemometer 14 and awind vane 15), feed-back signals representing pitch angle, rotorposition, amplitudes and phases of the voltage and current at thegenerator 12 and the terminals 9 a, etc., and command signals from thewind power plant controller 23. The wind power plant controller 23receives signals representative of the voltage, current and frequency atthe point of common coupling 21 (parameters which may be considered torepresent the voltage, current and frequency in the utility grid 20)and, optionally, receives information or command signals from theutility-grid provider (at “c” in FIG. 1). Based on some of these (and,optionally, further) input parameters the wind power plant controller 23monitors grid stability and, upon detection of a reduction of gridstability, commands the wind turbine controllers 13 of the wind turbinegenerator 1 and the other wind turbine generators of the wind powerplant 2 (at “b” in FIG. 1) to change operation by limiting fluctuationsof the output power supplied. Upon receipt of such a command the windturbine controller 13, upon increase of the wind speed, cuts thehigh-output peak which would then be produced in normal partial-loadoperation with maximum efficiency, e.g., by adjusting the blade-pitchangle towards the flag position, to comply with the wind-parkcontroller's limit-fluctuation command. Thus, in the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 1 the control task of the control system to limitoutput fluctuations is shared by the wind power plant controller 23 andthe wind turbine controller 13. In other embodiments this control taskis performed by the wind turbine controller 13 alone; in thoseembodiments, the “control system” is represented just by the windturbine controller 13, without a wind power plant controller.

Although the wind turbine generator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is expected tohave three rotor blades 4, it should be noted that a wind turbinegenerator may have different number of rotor blades. It is common tofind wind turbine generators having two to four rotor blades. The windturbine generator 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine(HAWT) as the rotor 3 rotates about a horizontal axis. It should benoted that the rotor 3 may rotate about a vertical axis. Such a windturbine generators having its rotor rotate about the vertical axis isknown as a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The embodiments describedhenceforth are not limited to HAWT having three rotor blades. They maybe implemented in both HAWT and VAWT, and having any number of rotorblades 4 in the rotor 3.

In an embodiment the first subset consists of wind turbine generatorsand wherein the second subset consist of conventional power sources,such fossil fuel fired power plant or hydropower plants, meaning thatthe fluctuation regulation takes place in the conventional power sourceand not in the wind power plant.

In an embodiment the dispatcher includes other power sources(conventional) into the first or second subset of wind turbinegenerators. An advantage for that embodiment is that the reservecapacity is from a conventional power source and that such power sourcesare easier to control, i.e. the same applies for Energy Storage Devices.

FIG. 2 shows the basic principle of dispatcher for a wind power plantaccording to the present invention. Where in the wind power plantcomprise four wind turbine generators WPS 220, 230, 240, 250. Windturbine generator 220 and 240 produces power below the common referenceP_(WPS) 260 and therefore is the power considered fluctuating 221 and241. Whereas wind turbine generator 230 and 250 produces power above thecommon reference P_(WPS) 260, thus the power produced 231 and 252 isregulated, with a curtailed amount of power 232 and 252.

FIG. 3 exemplifies the arrangement of the calculation modules inside thedispatcher 29. The dispatcher receives a power demand 37 that in theW_(PGS) dispatching calculations module 30 calculate the common activepower set point P_(WPS) 34, based on a plurality of status feedbacksignals WPS-1:n 35. The common active power set point PWPS 34 is used tocalculate the active power set point 33 to each of the wind turbinegenerators 1 in a plurality of dispatching WPS-i calculation modules 31and 32, in reality there are n modules or the calculation is performed ntimes.

The following equations describe the dispatcher algorithm:

Demand power reference for the wind power plant, P_(DemandWPGS):

P _(DemandWPGS) =P _(Reg) +P _(Fluct)  (1)

Total amount of regulated power in wind power plant:

P _(Reg) =NWPS _(Reg) ·P _(WPS),  (2)

where NWPS_(Reg) is the number of wind turbine generator that areconstrained by the common set point, P_(WPS).

Total electrical power that is not limited (fluctuating):

P _(Fluct) =ΣP _(WPS-i) ; ∀{i∈NWTG_(Fluct)}  (3)

where NWPS_(Fluct) is the number of wind turbine generator that are notconstrained by the set point P_(WPS) and P_(WPS-i) is the actualelectrical power produced by the WPS-i belonging to NWPS_(Fluct).

Therefore the total demanded power for the wind power plant is:

P _(DemandWPGS) =NWPS _(Reg) ·P _(WPS) +P _(Fluct)  (4)

From eq. (4) the common set point, P_(WPS), for all the wind turbinegenerator in the wind power plant is:

$\begin{matrix}{{{P_{WPS} = \frac{P_{DemandWPGS} - P_{Fluct}}{{NWPS}_{Reg}}};}{\forall\left\{ {{NWPS}_{Reg} \geq 1} \right\}}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

The eq. (5) is the basic dispatching rule. To determine in practice theNWPS_(Reg) and the P_(Fluct) it is necessary to know the wind turbinegenerator states at each instant by means of feedback signals to thecentral controller.

As example, two different ways for determining the NWPSR_(eg) and theP_(Fluct), based on WPS feedback, are presented as follows:

By reading the actual electrical power from each WPS, P_(WPS-i), andcomparing it with the common reference P_(WPS), thus:

P _(Fluct) =ΣP _(WPS-i) ; ∀{P _(WPS-i) <P _(WPS)}  (6)

NWPS _(Reg) =Σi; ∀{P _(WPS-i) ≥P _(WPS)}  (7)

By knowing the status of the internal flag External_Ref in each WPS thatindicates the source of the power reference being adopted in the windturbine generator local control. Thus:

P _(Fluct) =ΣP _(WPS-i); ∀{External Ref_(i)=0}  (8)

NWPS _(Reg) =Σi; ∀{External Ref_(i)=1}  (9)

The maximum P_(MaxWPS-i) and the minimum P_(MinWPS-i) allowed set pointsare also necessary to know in order to determine whether the WPS-i isregulated or not by the Dispatcher, because if P_(WPS)>P_(MaxWPS-i), orP*WPS<P_(MinWPS-i), the WPS-i cannot be regulated by the dispatcher andit should not be part of the NWPS_(Reg).

For a further development of this dispatching algorithm, particularoperational conditions must be considered. For example eq. (5) onlyworks when NWPS_(Reg)>=1, i.e. when at least one wind turbine generatorinside the wind power plant is being regulated, having power surplusfrom wind. Another condition to consider is when the operator of thewind power plant, WPGS needs, for some reason, to reduce the productionof only one wind turbine generator. A further analysis of theseoperational conditions is done as follows.

When NWPS_(Reg)=0 all the wind turbine generators in the wind powerplant produce fluctuating power, therefore they do not follow anexternal set point P_(WPS) and the total wind power production,P_(WPGS), is not regulated in this case. This particular situation cangenerate two different states, on which particular power references canbe applied as follows:

Case NWPGS_(Reg)=0 and P_(DemandWPGS)>P_(WPS): In this case the totalwind power plant production is lower than the demanded power, thereforewind turbine generator should receive a set point that allows anincrease in production when later wind increases locally. The value ofthis particular (not individual) set point should of course be higherthan the actual electrical power of each WPS. An extreme case is bysetting this set point equal to the rated WPP power, for all the WPS.Thus:

P _(WPS) =P _(RatedWPS) ; ∀{NWPS _(Reg)=0&P _(WPGS) <P_(DemandWPGS)}  (10)

Case NWPGS_(Reg)=0 and P_(WPP)>P_(DemandWPGS): Here the total WPPproduction is higher than the demanded power but no wind turbinegenerator is counted as regulated. This situation is generated when windspeed increases, or WPGS demand is reduced, while WPS set points aregiven by eq. (10). Therefore wind turbine generator set point should bereduced to a value that allows the regulation of the wind power plantaccording to P_(DemandWPGS). An option for determining the set point inthis case is to constraint only the wind turbine generator having actualproduction equal or higher than a mean set point value, P_(MeanWPS):

$\begin{matrix}{{{P_{MeanWPS} = \frac{P_{DemandWPGS}}{NWPS}};}{\forall\left\{ {{NWPS} \geq 1} \right\}}} & (11)\end{matrix}$

Therefore the group of wind turbine generator with actualP_(WPS)<P_(MeanWPS) will not be constrained by the new set point. Tocalculate the new wind turbine generator set points, the regulated powercomponent of the wind power plant should be determined and thendistributed among the wind turbine generator having actualP_(WPS)>=P_(MeanWPS), represented by N_(HiMean). That is:

$\begin{matrix}{{{P_{WPS} = \frac{P_{DemandWPGS} - P_{LoMean}}{N_{HiMean}}};}{\forall\left\{ {{NWPS}_{Reg} = {{{0\&}\mspace{11mu} P_{WPGS}} \geq P_{DemandWPGS}}} \right\}}} & (12)\end{matrix}$

Where the W_PGS production component given by fluctuating wind turbinegenerator, P_(LoMean), is:

P _(LoMean) =ΣP _(WPS-i) ; ∀{P _(WPS-i) <P _(MeanWPS)}  (13)

and the number of wind turbine generator that will be regulated byP_(WPS) is:

N _(HiMean) =Σi; ∀{P _(WPS-i) ≥P _(MeanWPS)}  (14)

Notice that, by adopting the set point from eq. (12), the new state fromthe wind turbine generator after feedback will become NWPSR_(eg)>=1 andthe wind turbine generator set point in the next sample (k) will then begiven then by eq. (5).

As mentioned before, another operational condition is when the windpower plant operator needs to reduce the power of just one wind turbinegenerator, while remaining wind turbine generator continue to operatenormally. In this case it is sufficient to compare the P_(WPS) with thenew value from the operator, P_(OperatorWPSi), and then take the minimumof these to get the set point for that particular WPS-i, P_(WPSS-i):

P _(WPS-i)=min{P _(WPS) ,P _(operatorWPS-i)}  (15)

Expressions (5) to (15) can be discretized for implementation in adigital controller. Furthermore, they can be grouped in two types ofcalculation modules: (i) one module for calculating wind power plantvalues and (ii) other modules for calculating individual WPS-i values(one module per wind turbine generator). The WPGS calculation moduleinterchanges signals with each WPS-i calculation module.

FIG. 4 describes the complete algorithm for the WPS-i calculation module31, 32 corresponding to each wind turbine generator. In comparisonmodule 41 the variable is_connected_WPSi is calculated. In comparisonmodule 42 variable P_(WPSi) is derived as a minimum of two variablesP_(WPS) and P_(OperatorWPS-i). In comparison block 43 the variableis_Higher_than_Pmean_WPSi is calculated. Block 48 is an AND function andget inputs from block 44 to block 47, the output of block 48 is thevariable is_Regulated_WPSi. Block 49 is a switch module that operatesbased on the output of block 48. It determines whether a specificreference setpoint PWPSi is fluctuating or not. Block 50 is a switchmodule which determines whether a specific reference setpoint PWPSi isabove or below a mean value.

FIG. 5 describes the complete algorithm for the wind power plant insidethe WPGS dispatching calculations module 30. It discloses the varioussummations needed to derive Eq. 1-15 in a block diagram.

FIG. 6 is a functional circuit diagram of an embodiment of a wind powerplant controller 23 arranged to perform the method explained inconnection with FIG. 3. The wind power plant controller 23 implements agrid-observer function 25 which monitors the grid frequency and theoutput power, e.g., at the point of common coupling 21 of the wind powerplant 2. The output of the grid-observer function 25 is provided to afluctuations controller 26 which is arranged to determine thecorrelation between output-power and grid-frequency fluctuations, and todetermine the amount of power reduction, that is to say Limit ΔP. Asexplained, Limit ΔP is determined so as to allow the amount ofacceptable fluctuation. Limit ΔP is input to a wind-park set pointcalculator 27 which is arranged to transform it in a power-outputsetpoint of the wind park. To determine the power-output setpoint, thewind power plant set point calculator 27 can also consider anexternal-point signal, e.g., from the grid provider. Based on thesetpoint, an output-power controller 28 produces a control signal forthe power to be output by the wind power plant 2, using on a feedbacksignal representing the actual power produced by the wind power plant.The control signal is fed to a dispatcher 29 which is arranged to splitthe regulation among the individual wind turbines generators (herereferred to as WT1, WT2, . . . WTn) of the wind power plant, andcalculates individual set points. The individual set points may differfor the wind turbine generators WT1, WT2, WTn, e.g., due to differentwind conditions for the for the wind turbine generators WT1, WT2, WTn.The dispatcher bases the splitting activity on feedbacks about theoperating states of the wind turbine generators WT1, WT2, WTn.

The individual set points are transmitted to the individual wind-turbinecontrollers, one of which is the wind-turbine controllers 13 of FIG. 1.

The wind power plant controller 23 is thus arranged to calculate andsend set points for the wind turbine generators in order to obtain areduction of the total power to contribute to grid-frequency stability.

The reduction is such that it maximizes the wind power plant yield. Thisis also referred to as “system power balancing.” The wind power plantcontroller 23 adjusts the wind power plant set point and the windturbine generator set points continuously to balance power productionand frequency fluctuations.

FIG. 7 shows simulation results of the performance of this dispatchingalgorithm and FIG. 8 is a zooming-in around a set point change. Thetotal wind power plant production, P_(WPGS), is regulated toP_(DemandWPGS) as long as wind turbine generator's with surplus of powerare available. A set point event is simulated at t=130 p.u., whereP_(DemandWPGS) was increased 10% from WPGS nominal. Observe that theP_(WPS) set point changes with P_(DemandWPGS) but also compensatingindividual P_(WPS) fluctuations.

FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of a method according to the invention foroperating a wind power system, comprising a first subset of wind turbinegenerators and a second subset of wind turbine generators. Step 900includes analyzing an active power output of each of the first subset ofwind turbine generators. Step 901 includes calculating an active powerset point to at least the second subset of wind turbine generators basedon the active power output of the first subset of wind turbinegenerators and step 902 includes dispatching the active power set pointto at least each of the second subset of wind turbine generator tominimize power fluctuations.

Individual WPS can experience a drop in power of X pu/s, thereforeothers WPS should increase power to compensate this reduction. Thus theindividual WPS ramp limiters should not be less than X/(NWPS−1) pu/s.

A selection algorithm within the dispatcher selects which wind turbinesgenerator belongs to the first subset and which belongs to the secondsubset. The selection is a dynamical process and the subset may varyover time as a function of wind speed seen at each wind turbinegenerator, or as a wear function, so each turbine sees the samestructural loads.

In an embodiment the selection algorithm is based on geographicallocation of the wind turbine generators. As an example a wind powerplant with turbines located on a mountain slope, some turbines may “see”high wind all the time and others may “see” fluctuating wind speed, evenhere the wind condition may vary over time.

In an embodiment the subsets might not be located at the same wind farm(WPP) or adjacent wind farms, it may be a plurality of wind power planteach wind power plant having a point of common coupling different forthe other plant, but where the grid operator can apply the dispatcherstrategy proposed here.

In an embodiment the first and second subset are located within the samewind power plant, with a common point of coupling. The first subset isan abstract subset that only exists inside the dispatcher logic. Theonly physical constraint is that they must be connected to the samepower system.

The term wind turbine generator, WPS is to be understood both as asingle wind turbine generator according to FIG. 1, but in someembodiments it may also be a group of wind turbine generator accordingto FIG. 1 connected at a point of common coupling, thereby, from a powersystem operator, seen as one source of wind power from one location.

The term wind power plant, WPGS may in some embodiments be a single windpower plant with a plurality of wind turbine generators according toFIG. 1. In other embodiments wind power plant is to be understood as anaggregation of wind power plants located at different geographicallocation, either adjacent to each other or remote from each other, butall of them are controllable by means of the dispatcher of the presentinvention.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with thespecified embodiments, it should not be construed as being in any waylimited to the presented examples. The scope of the present invention isto be interpreted in the light of the accompanying claim set. In thecontext of the claims, the terms “comprising” or “comprises” do notexclude other possible elements or steps. Also, the mentioning ofreferences such as “a” or “an” etc. should not be construed as excludinga plurality. The use of reference signs in the claims with respect toelements indicated in the figures shall also not be construed aslimiting the scope of the invention. Furthermore, individual featuresmentioned in different claims, may possibly be advantageously combined,and the mentioning of these features in different claims does notexclude that a combination of features is not possible and advantageous.

Any range or device value given herein may be extended or alteredwithout losing the effect sought, as will be apparent to the skilledperson.

It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described abovemay relate to one embodiment or may relate to several embodiments. Itwill further be understood that reference to ‘an’ item refer to one ormore of those items.

It will be understood that the above description of a preferredembodiment is given by way of example only and that variousmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The abovespecification, examples, and data provide a complete description of thestructure and use of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Althoughvarious embodiments of the invention have been described above with acertain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or moreindividual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerousalterations to the disclosed embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of this invention.

1. A power system having an active power output, the power systemcomprising: a plurality of wind turbine generators; a power plantcontroller configured to: assign each wind turbine generator of theplurality of wind turbine generators to a selected one of a first subsetand a second subset; and generate, based on a collective active powerproduction of the first subset, one or more active power set points forone or more wind turbine generators of the second subset; and aplurality of wind turbine controllers, wherein each wind turbinegenerator of the plurality of wind turbine generators is controlled by arespective wind turbine controller of the plurality of wind turbinecontrollers, wherein each wind turbine controller is configured to:receive a respective active power set point; when the respective windturbine generator is assigned to the first subset, control an activepower production of the respective wind turbine generator without beingrestricted by the respective active power set point; and when therespective wind turbine generator is assigned to the second subset,restrict the active power production of the respective wind turbinegenerator by the respective active power set point, wherein active powerfluctuations of the active power output are reduced.
 2. The power systemof claim 1, wherein the power plant controller is configured to definethe first subset and the second subset using a selection algorithm. 3.The power system of claim 2, wherein the selection algorithm defines thefirst subset and the second subset using actual wind speed values at theplurality of wind turbine generators.
 4. The power system of claim 2,wherein the selection algorithm defines the first subset and the secondsubset using actual power output values of the plurality of wind turbinegenerators.
 5. The power system of claim 1, wherein the one or moreactive power set points are a common active power set point that isbased on a difference between (i) an active power set point receivedfrom the power plant controller and (ii) the collective active powerproduction of the first subset, wherein the difference is scaled by acount of wind turbine generators included in the second subset.
 6. Thepower system according to claim 5, wherein the common active power setpoint is defined as:${P_{setpoint} = \frac{P_{demand} - P_{fluctuating}}{N_{regulated}}},$wherein P_(setpoint) represents the common active power set point,P_(demand) represents the active power set point, P_(fluctuating)represents the collective active power production of the first subset,and N_(regulated) represents the count of wind turbine generatorsincluded in the second subset.
 7. The power system of claim 5, wherein,at a first wind turbine generator of the plurality of wind turbinegenerators, the common active power set point is overruled by anotheractive power set point.
 8. The power system according to claim 1,wherein wind turbine generators of the first subset and wind turbinegenerators of the second subset are located within a same wind powerplant or within adjacent wind power plants.
 9. The power systemaccording to claim 1, wherein wind turbine generators of the firstsubset and wind turbine generators of the second subset are located attwo or more geographical locations.
 10. A method for operating a windpower system, the method comprising: assigning each wind turbinegenerator of a plurality of wind turbine generators to a selected one ofa first subset and a second subset; determining an active power outputof each wind turbine generator of the first subset; and dispatching,using the active power output, one or more active power set points tothereby restrict an active power production of each wind turbinegenerator of the second subset, wherein active power fluctuations of thewind power system are reduced, and wherein each wind turbine generatorof the first subset operates with an active power production that is notrestricted by the one or more active power set points.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, further comprising: defining the first subset and the secondsubset using a selection algorithm.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinthe selection algorithm defines the first subset and the second subsetusing actual wind speed values at the plurality of wind turbinegenerators.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the selection algorithmdefines the first subset and the second subset using actual power outputvalues of the plurality of wind turbine generators.
 14. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the one or more active power set points are a commonactive power set point that is based on a difference between (i) anactive power set point for an active power production of the wind powersystem and (ii) the active power output, and wherein the difference isscaled by a count of wind turbine generators included in the secondsubset.
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the common activepower set point is defined as:${P_{setpoint} = \frac{P_{demand} - P_{fluctuating}}{N_{regulated}}},$wherein P_(setpoint) represents the common active power set point,P_(demand) represents the active power set point, P_(fluctuating)represents a collective active power production of the first subset, andN_(regulated) represents the count of wind turbine generators includedin the second subset.
 16. A method of operating a wind power systemcomprising a plurality of wind turbine generators, the methodcomprising: determining one or more first wind turbine generators of theplurality of wind turbine generators having active power fluctuationsthat exceed a predefined fluctuation limit; determining one or moresecond wind turbine generators of the plurality of wind turbinegenerators that each have an active power production that exceeds apredefined active power threshold value; curtailing an active powerproduction of the one or more second wind turbine generators; andpermitting an active power production of the one or more first windturbine generators without curtailment.
 17. The method of claim 16,further comprising: determining, based on an active power set point forthe wind power system, a common active power set point for the pluralityof wind turbine generators.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thepredefined active power threshold corresponds to the common active powerset point.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the common active powerset point is based on a difference between the active power set pointand the active power production of the one or more first wind turbinegenerators, wherein the difference is scaled by a count of the one ormore second wind turbine generators.
 20. The method of claim 19, whereinthe common active power set point is defined as:${P_{setpoint} = \frac{P_{demand} - P_{fluctuating}}{N_{regulated}}},$wherein P_(setpoint) represents the common active power set point,P_(demand) represents the active power set point, P_(fluctuating)represents the active power production of the one or more first windturbine generators, and N_(regulated) represents the count of the one ormore second wind turbine generators.